


Long Overdue

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Series: AK ficlets [6]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 15:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15776925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Deran bails Adrian out of jail because of course he does. Afterwards, the boys have a long overdue conversation.Adrian POV





	Long Overdue

Adrian made his goodbyes to the court appointed attorney with a promise to follow up within a day or two and walked out of the courthouse. Blinking against the sudden sunlight, he looked around for Deran. He knew the other man had to be out here somewhere since he couldn’t find him inside. His bail was posted and there as no one else who could have, or let’s be honest would have, posted it for him. After a moment he saw the white van that Deran had taken to driving. Slowly he started making his way over.

He walked up on the passenger side. Before he even got to the door the van started up. Cautiously, he poked his head in the open window. He wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Deran in this situation. This was new territory for them. The other man didn’t look at him. Adrian gripped the handle but didn’t pull the door open just yet.

“Jesus are you gonna get in or what?” Deran let out. He still wasn’t looking at him. Adrian didn’t answer. He just got in the van. Deran pulled away before he could even pull the door closed.

Ok. Clearly Deran was upset. Adrian looked over at him as he drove. He had one hand on the wheel and the other up to his mouth, biting at his nail. It was a nervous habit Adrian had been trying to break him of. He focused back on the road in front of him.

The 20 minute ride back to the bar passed in total silence. When they arrived, Deran let the car door slam behind him as he stomped over to unlock the building. Adrian got out at a more sedate pace but didn’t follow him into the bar. He knew he owed Deran an explanation or at least a conversation after the man had bailed him out of jail but he also knew that talking to Deran when he was in one of these moods was pointless. Nothing good ever came of it. 

He must have been standing there longer than he thought because Deran came back out looking for him. 

“Are you coming in?” he spat out. 

“Do you really want me to?” Adrian asked. “I can find somewhere else to be and we can talk later,” he offered.

Deran looked at him then looked away. “What kind of question is that? Of course I want you to. If I wanted you somewhere else, I would’ve dropped you off somewhere.” With that he turned around and went back in the bar, leaving Adrian staring after him. 

Still slightly dumbfounded – Deran had been more open about his feelings recently but he’d never come outright and admitted that he wanted Adrian around – Adrian followed him inside. Dropping his bag by the door, he followed the sounds of activity to find Deran in the kitchen. There was an open beer on the counter for him and from the looks of it, Deran was halfway through a bottle of his own already. 

Adrian eased into the seat and took a sip of the beer. He needed it. He hadn’t felt this unsteady around Deran in a while. He hadn’t missed the feeling.

After a few long moments of continued silence, Adrian couldn’t take it anymore. “Thank you,” he began, “for uh-“

Deran cut him off. “What the fuck are you doing smuggling cocaine?” Both men flinched at the words. Deran had shouted and it was clear from his reaction that he hadn’t quite intended to. 

Adrian looked down and started fiddling with the label on his bottle. “There was no French board sponsor.” He started to answer but again Deran cut him off. “Yeah no shit man. I figured that one out already.” Deran ran a hand through his hair. “If you needed more money, you should’ve just asked me.” He told him. 

Adrian picked his head up and looked Deran in the eyes for the first time today. “No.” He stated simply.

Deran looked bewildered. If it was any other situation, Adrian would’ve enjoyed the view but right now, he just couldn’t. “Why not?” 

“Because I had a problem and I needed to solve it. On my own. I appreciated the sponsorship and the money you gave me but I couldn’t just live off of you. I chose to do the QS and I wanted to finish it the way I started.” Deran started to talk but Adrian just kept going. He needed to get this out. “There was a point where I was gonna give up and you wouldn’t let me and I love you for that. You were right. I would’ve regretted it if I’d walked away then. You got me back on the board. But I needed to be the one to finish it out. It didn’t feel right just taking your money to fund my dreams.”

Deran looked confused. “I offered man. You weren’t taking anything.” Adrian just shook his head and took another sip. He knew Deran wouldn’t understand. “Why didn’t you tell me you ran out? Even if you didn’t want more from me you should’ve told me. I could’ve helped you come up with a better idea than smuggling drugs.”

At that, Adrian had to laugh. It was a low, harsh thing and he watched Deran flinch at the sound of it. “When the fuck do we ever talk about me and my problems? I mean, a 30 second recap of how my last competition went doesn’t count. Other than that?” Adrian shrugged and took a longer sip this time. He was gonna have to get another bottle soon. “We talk about you and your family. And that’s fine. I’m here for you. But we don’t talk about me.”

Deran looked like he was going to argue but Adrian was on a roll. He had no idea the next time they would actually talk like this so he was going to get it all out now. “Hell we don’t even talk about us. I know I’ve been in and out a lot lately but we’ve never actually talked about what we’re doing here.”

“What we’re doing here? What are you talking about?” Deran finally butt in.

“I mean are we dating? Are we exclusive? Or are we doing the same old same old friends with benefits thing but without the hiding?” Adrian shot back. “What are we, Deran?”

“Well I was under the impression that we were dating or whatever.” Deran huffed. “I mean we’re fucking moving in together, man.”

“Are we?” Adrian asked.

“What fucking kind of question is that?” Deran replied.

“When did you ask me to move in with you?” Adrian asked. “At which point did we talk about that? Because I remember telling you that you needed a shower and a real bed and you telling me that you were fine in the bar. Then the next thing I know you’re taking me to check out million dollar condos with you. And then you’re telling Smurf that we’re buying a place together. There was no discussion anywhere in that.”

Deran didn’t reply. Adrian drained his bottle and got up to get a new one. While he was searching for a bottle opener, and _it should not be this hard to find a bottle opener in a damn bar_ , he heard Deran’s reply from the kitchen. It was faint but unmistakable. “Are you saying you don’t want to move in with me?” 

Adrian whirled around. He hadn’t heard that tone of voice from Deran in a long, long time. He had almost forgotten that Deran could sound like that. Small and scared. He took long steps back into the kitchen and took one of Deran’s hand in his own. “No I’m not saying that. I want to live with you. I want us to get a place together.” He assured Deran. “But I wanted that to be a decision that we made together. I wanted us to talk about it and decide as a – as a couple.” He hesitated on that last word. He’d never referred to them as such. “And I mean-I wanted us to talk about whether we are actually a couple. We’ve never talked about what happens when I’m gone, for either one of us. We just- I want us to talk more, okay?”

Deran was looking at the floor but Adrian tried to catch his gaze. This conversation was long overdue and he wanted to make sure that they were communicating. When Deran didn’t lift his head, Adrian leaned forward to rest his own head against Deran’s. 

“Deran?” Adrian asked softly. “Still with me?”

He felt Deran nod slightly. After a beat he lifted his head and Adrian leaned back to give him space. 

“Ok. So we need to talk more.” Deran started. “First things first. I’ve been under the impression that we were together. Like exclusively. There hasn’t been anybody else since Linc and that was done weeks ago.”

Adrian nodded. “Ok. Good talk. We’re a couple. How hard was that?” He finished with a small smile. Deran huffed a chuckle out. Adrian would take what he could get. 

“Second. Do you want to move in with me?” Deran started again. “I was thinking that you were right. Maybe I do need a real bed and if you’re gonna be spending more time here, with me, then we should probably have a shower and shit. Somewhere on the Strand. Walk to work. Walk to surf.” He quoted gently. 

“I would love to move in with you. Big fan of the shower idea.” Adrian smiled. “But I don’t want or need any of those places you were looking at.”

He paused in case Deran wanted to interject but the other man just waited for him to finish. “I don’t want you to buy it outright. I want to pay half. I want to be equals in this, Deran. I don’t want to live off of you for free.” 

He reached over and grabbed Deran’s beer for a sip. He had left his out in the bar. “And what do are you doing looking at places with two or three bedrooms? Unless you’ve got something to tell me, then it’s just us. We don’t need that much space.”

Deran shrugged. “Honestly, I was thinking the extra bedroom would be for Craig whenever he decided he needed to crash because if his only option is the couch, we’re gonna lose the whole living room.” Adrian laughed. He had to admit, it was smart to plan for Craig. There was little chance of the man _not_ staying over at some point. “And if you want to like pay me back you can. But right now you’re not exactly working and I’ve got the money. So what if I buy a place outright?” 

Adrian sighed and stepped away, dropping Deran’s hand. This was a different conversation. “Same reason I didn’t want you to keep paying for the QS. I don’t want to owe you. I don’t want everything I have and everything that I am to be reliant on you.”

Deran looked confused and a little hurt. “But I have the money. I want to pay for it.” Adrian ran a hand across his forehead before looking back at Deran. “Because all money leads back to Smurf. And I don’t want to owe that woman a goddamn thing.” He admitted.

Now Deran started to look mad. “It’s my money. I told you I was getting away from her. I’ve got this place, which has nothing to do with her. I’ve pulled my own jobs without her and the family.” Deran responded. “It’s not Smurf’s money, ok. It’s _mine_. And I want to spend it on you. So let me.”

Adrian shook his head. “Where were you going to get the money for the condo?” He asked. “And your answer can’t involve the word Smurf.” He challenged as Deran opened his mouth. Deran hesitated before closing it again. 

“I know you’re trying to stand on your own and I am proud of you for it. The bar is a success and that’s because of you, not her. But the majority of the money that you have comes from Smurf, one way or another. I mean, look at what happened at the house a couple days ago. She gave you all properties to sell _so that you could buy us a place_. You wouldn’t have had the money any other way.” Deran didn’t respond.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do, Deran. But I don’t want any part of my life dependent on her and her whims. I saw how she controlled Cath because Smurf owned their house.” Adrian paused. “I want us to find a place that we can afford together. But I want us to afford it based on our actual jobs.”

“You know how much I make here?” Deran asked.

Adrian shrugged. “So it’ll be a piece of shit. Probably be a couple of blocks off the beach. But it’d be ours and that’s all I really care about.”

Deran looked at him. A slow smile spread across his face. “This place is a piece of shit. It’s a couple blocks off the beach and Smurf has nothing to do with it.” Adrian smacked him gently on the chest but smiled. “Ok. I care about having a real bed and shower.” He moved to stand next to Deran and nudge him gently in the shoulder. 

“I’m glad we’re talking. And I can’t wait to find our own little piece of shit to call home.” He told him. “But I do have a little problem that needs to be addressed first.” 

Deran hung his head briefly before looking back at him. “We’ll handle it. Even if it was dumbass move.”

Adrian shrugged. He couldn’t argue with him and there was no point getting upset about it. He had made the choice and now he was going to have to figure out a way to live with the consequences. “One question though.” Deran asked. 

“Hmm?” 

“Would you object to me selling those properties and paying for you to get an actual fucking lawyer? Not that piece of crap court appointed jackass.” Adrian thought about it. He couldn’t afford to turn down Deran’s help, not if he wanted a chance of getting out of this. But he didn’t want Smurf’s money to be the answer. 

“Or I could find another source of income and never tell you where I got the money.” Deran offered. 

Adrian glared at him. “I don’t want you to lie to me, Deran.”

“Ok.” Deran agreed easily. 

“But,” he began hesitantly, “are my principles really worth jail time?”

Deran paused. “That is up to you. I know what I would say but I know you really care about this.” 

“I’ll think about it.” Adrian said. “See how bad the lawyer I’ve got is first before making any decisions.”

“See if he can get you a deal. Tell the cops who your supplier is in exchange for no jail time.”

“Right like that won’t end badly for me.”

Deran reached up and gripped his chin to make sure Adrian was looking at him before speaking. “I would never let anything happen to you, ok? You worry about staying out of jail and let me worry about keeping your ass alive. I’ve grown rather attached to it.” 

Adrian smiled. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Ok.” Adrian leaned forward and closed the distance between them. They’d done enough talking for today. It wasn’t everything but it was a good start. He felt Deran’s hands reach up to push his shirt over his shoulders and Adrian started pushing Deran back towards the ladder. They only broke apart when they ran out of breath at the foot of the ladder. Adrian stepped back to give Deran space to go up but Deran motioned for him to go up first. 

Adrian cursed the ladder as he started climbing, it was impractical and a bit of a mood killer. He was just getting to the top when he heard Deran start talking below him.

“Wait.” Adrian paused and looked over his shoulder at Deran.

“What?” 

“Just thinking about parts of our conversation and-“

“Right now?” Adrian tried to interject.

“Did you say you love me?” Deran continued saying. 

Adrian froze from where he was settling on top of the ladder. He looked down at Deran, feeling the blush spread across his cheeks. He’d known that he was in love with Deran since he was like 18 but he’d never said anything to him. But Deran didn’t look upset. He had a small smile on his face but it was hesitant, like he wasn’t sure if he had heard Adrian correctly.

Adrian rolled his eyes a little bit. He replayed the conversation in his head to try and remember when he had those words. “I might have said something to that effect in context.” Deran’s smile fell a little. “But I do love you. In case you missed that somehow over the last decade. I am in love with you.” His own smile grew as Deran beamed at him. “Now get the fuck up here.”

Deran hurried up the ladder and pressed Adrian against the bed with a firm kiss. “I love you too. In case you missed that.” 

Adrian could only smile and kiss him again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr - @bestillmyslashyheart


End file.
